Quantum cascade structure for mid-IR four-wave mixing

The design and modeling of a quantum cascade optical amplifier (QCOA) using intra-cavity non-linear interactions to achieve wavelength conversion is proposed. The model is based on the nonlinear equation coupled with Maxwell wave equations for different emission modes. In the proposed structure, four wave mixing (FWM) output exhibits a peak as a function of pump and probe frequency if they are tuned to the energy levels of the QC structure subbands. Results demonstrate that the FWM output signal power significantly depends on how subbands are engineered and interact with optical pulses which propagate in multi layer medium. In addition, we show that by adjusting pump and probe signal frequencies, FWM output power can be tuned.     

Generation and Manipulation of Spin-Orbit Coupling mode via Four-Wave Mixing with Quantum Interference

Recently, the vectorial nonlinear optical processes driven by spin-orbit coupling (SOC) light have come to the fore, leading to striking optical phenomena and important applications both in classical and quantum optics. However, research on the SOC-mediated light-atom interactions is still in its infancy. Here, the generation and manipulation of SOC mode through a vectorial four-wave mixing (FWM) process in ⁸⁵Rb vapor is demonstrated. Under the excitation of two SOC pump beams, multiple FWM paths can be simultaneously established due to the rich atomic Zeeman sublevels coupling with different circularly polarized components of SOC fields. A higher-order cylindrical or more general SOC FWM signal is observed in the vectorial FWM process, which obeys angular momentum conservation and Gouy phase matching. In particular, quantum interference between different FWM paths plays a crucial role in manipulating the SOC mode of the generated FWM signal, revealing that the conversion of SOC mode is intrinsically quantum. This work provides a pathway toward deeper insight into the vectorial nonlinear optical processes and may advance technology for shaping spatially structured light, which is essential in applications such as nonlinear polarization imaging and the optical communication realm.     

Efficient four-wave mixing of a coupled double quantum-well nanostructure

We propose an efficient four-wave mixing (FWM) scheme in an asymmetric semiconductor double quantum-well (SDQW) structure based on intersubband transitions, and obtain the corresponding explicit analytical expressions for the input probe and generated FWM pulsed fields by use of the coupled Schrödinger-Maxwell approach. Under the resonant and phase-matched conditions, the FWM efficiency versus several variables is also discussed in details and the maximum FWM efficiency of the system under study is greater than 25%. Such a semiconductor system is much more practical than its atomic counterpart because of its flexible design and the controllable interference strength. This nonlinear optical process in the SDQW solid-state material can be used for efficiently generating coherent short-wavelength radiation.     

Controllable four-wave mixing based on quantum dot-cavity coupling system

We theoretically study the four-wave mixing(FWM) response in a quantum dot-cavity coupling system, where a two-level quantum dot(QD) is placed in an optical cavity while the cavity mode is coupled to the nanomechanical resonator via radiation pressure. The influences of the QD-cavity coupling strength, the Rabi coupling strength of the QD, and the power of the pump light on the FWM intensity are mainly considered. The numerical results show that the FWM intensity in this hybrid system can be significantly enhanced by increasing the QD-cavity coupling strength. In addition, the FWM intensity can be effectively modulated by the Rabi coupling strength and the pump power. Furthermore, the effects of the cavity decay rate and the cavitypump detuning on the FWM signal are also explored. The obtained results may have potential applications in the fields of quantum optics and quantum information science.     

Competition between Dispersion and Absorption of Doubly-Dressed Four-Wave Mixing and Dressed Six-Wave Mixing

We study the competition between dispersion and absorption of doubly-dressed four-wave mixing （DDFWM） and dressed six-wave mixing. In the case of weak coupling fields limit, we find DDFWM signal is affected by destructive interference between four-wave mixing（FWM） and six-wave mixing as wen as constructive interference between FWM and eight-wave mixing. By analysing the difference between two kinds of doubly dressing mechanisms （parallel cascade and nested cascade） in this opening five-level system, we can further understand the generated high-order nonlinear optical signal dressed by multi-fields.     

Polarization phase gate and three-photon GHZ state using coherently enhanced Kerr nonlinearity

We study the nonlinear optical response of a five-level atomic system in the regimes of electromagnetically induced transparency and coherent Raman gain, corresponding to two different schemes of light-atom interaction. Our analytical and numerical results show that greatly enhanced Kerr nonlinearity and efficient cross phase modulation may be achieved between a weak probe field and a weak signal field. The cross phase modulation via Kerr nonlinearity is then exploited toward the realization of a polarization quantum phase gate and the generation of a three-photon GHZ state.     

Observations of Autler-Townes spatial splitting of four-wave mixing image

We report the self- and external-dressed Autler-Townes (A-T) splittings of the images of the generated four-wave mixing signal (FWM) and electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) of probe images in cascade three-level atomic system. Such spatial properties of probe and FWM signals are induced by the enhanced cross-Kerr nonlinearity. We demonstrate the controlled electromagnetically induced spatial dispersion (EISD), splitting and focusing of probe and FWM signals images by adjusting self- and external-dressing fields. Studies on such controllable A-T spatial splitting and spatial EIT effect can be very useful in applications of spatial signal processing and optical communication.     

Mid-infrared efficient generation by resonant four-wave mixing in a three-coupled-quantum-well nanostructure

We present a cascade configuration for the realization of highly efficient four-wave mixing (FWM) process in an asymmetric semiconductor three-coupled-quantum-well (TCQW) structure based on intersubband transitions (ISBTs). In the proposed TCQW scheme, the efficiency of the generated FWM mid-infrared (MIR) signal is significantly enhanced and the obtained maximum efficiency is greater than 50%. The corresponding explicit analytical expressions for the input probe and generated FWM pulsed fields are derived by use of the coupled Schrödinger-Maxwell approach and the FWM efficiency versus several variables is also discussed in details. Such a semiconductor system is much more practical than its atomic counterpart because of its flexible design and the wide adjustable parameters. This nonlinear optical process in the TCQW solid-state material can be used for efficiently generating coherent short-wavelength radiation.     

Optical processes of photonic band gap structure with dressing field in atomic system

We experimentally investigate probe transmission signals (PTS), the four-wave mixing photonic band gap signal (FWM BGS), and the fluorescence signal (FLS) in an inverted Y-type four level atomic system. For the first time, we compare the FLS of the two ground-state hyperfine levels of Rb 85. In particular, the second-order and the fourth-order fluorescence signals perform dramatic dressing discrepancies under the two hyperfine levels. Moreover, we find that the dressing field has some dressing effects on three such types of signals. Therefore, we demonstrate that the characteristics of PTS, FWM BGS, and FLS can be controlled by frequency detunings, the powers or phases of the dressing field. Such research could have potential applications in optical diodes, amplifiers, and quantum information processing.     

Characteristics of wavelength conversion of short optical pulses in quantum dot semiconductor optical amplifiers

The characteristics of short optical pulse four-wave mixing (FWM) and amplification in quantum dot semiconductor optical amplifiers (QD-SOAs) are investigated taken into account the effect of the multi-discrete QD energy levels. Different saturation and recovery response for the electron and hole states are observed, which is attributed to different energy spacing between the energy states. We found that the 3 dB saturation energy of QD-SOA depends on the pulse width for short input pulses. Also, the optimum time delay between the probe and pump pulses in QD-SOAs, which provides maximum FWM efficiency in QD-SOAs, is smaller than the optimum delay in quantum well SOA.     

Vacuum Rabi Splitting and Kerr Effect of a Hybrid Spin–Magnon–Photon System

The vacuum Rabi splitting and Kerr effect are investigated theoretically in a hybrid spin–magnon–photon system, where the nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond driven by two light fields is coupled to a spherical micromagnet embedded in a superconducting coplanar waveguide resonator. The results indicate that the phenomenon of the Mollow triplet and vacuum Rabi splitting can appear by controlling the spin–magnon coupling and magnon–photon coupling. It is shown that the probe absorption spectrum can be adjusted effectively via the pump frequency detuning. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the optical Kerr effect can be tuned by changing the Rabi frequency. This work may provide a possibility for the applications in quantum information processing and quantum sensing of magnetic signal.     

Steady-state linear optical properties and Kerr nonlinear optical response of a four-level quantum dot with phonon-assisted transition

The linear optical properties and Kerr nonlinear optical response in a four-level loop configuration Ga As/Al Ga As semiconductor quantum dot are analytically studied with the phonon-assisted transition(PAT). It is shown that the changes among a single electromagnetically induced transparency(EIT) window, a double EIT window and the amplification of the probe field in the absorption curves can be controlled by varying the strength of PAT κ. Meanwhile, double switching from the anomalous dispersion regime to the normal dispersion regime can likely be achieved by increasing the Rabi energy of the external optical control field. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the group velocity of the probe field can be practically regulated by varying the PAT and the intensity of the optical control field. In the nonlinear case, it is shown that the large SPM and XPM can be achieved as linear absorption vanishes simultaneously, and the PAT can suppress both third-order self-Kerr and the cross-Kerr nonlinear effect of the QD. Our study is much more practical than its atomic counterpart due to its flexible design and the controllable interference strength, and may provide some new possibilities for technological applications.     

Tunneling-induced π-phase shift with a single-photon signal field in asymmetric double quantum wells

A theoretical investigation is carried out into the cross phase modulation （XPM） in an asymmetric double A1GaAs/GaAs quantum wells structure with a common continuum. It is found that, combining resonant tunneling-induced transparency and constructive interference in the third-order Kerr effect, a giant XPM can be achieved with vanishing linear and nonlinear absorptions, accompanied by the velocities of the probe and signal fields being matched. Furthermore, this giant XPM could induce a π-phase shift at a single-photon level which is favorable for the applications in two-qubit quantum logic gates.     

A comparative study of modified PUSCA and paired PUSCA strategies in WDM system

In G.653 compliant fiber, four-wave mixing (FWM) is a dominant non-linear effect. Performance of optical wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) network based on G.653 fiber is affected by the generated FWM components. The paper aims to discuss the methods used to reduce the number of FWM components and make efficient utilization of bandwidth. We have earlier proposed two methods (a) modified periodically unequally spaced channel allocation (modified PUSCA) and (b) paired PUSCA. In this paper, we have compared both the methods by considering the ratio of increase in weighted average signal to FWM noise ratio to increase in bandwidth as a figure of merit. Further, the performance of paired PUSCA scheme on G.653 fiber has been compared with equally spaced channel allocation (ESCA) scheme on G.652 fiber in which FWM is not a dominant non-linear effect. We demonstrate that paired PUSCA on G.653 fiber performs better than ESCA on G.652 fiber when the number of channels is less than 30.     

Nontransparency and optical phase erasure characteristic of four-wave mixing

Four-wave mixing (FWM) is a well-known nonlinear optical phenomenon and has attracted great interest in nonlinear all-optical signal processing owing to its ultrafast and transparent properties. Here we report the experimental observation via spectra on the nontransparency and optical phase erasure characteristic of FWM. The distinctive feature of “optical phase erasure” is a consequence of square relationship between the converted idler and input signal. It is interesting to find that the optical phase information carried by the input signal is erased in the converted idler by exploiting FWM. Such new attribute of FWM enables optical phase information removal and all-optical format conversion from carrier-suppressed return-to-zero (CSRZ) to return-to-zero (RZ). Moreover, similar phenomena are observed in the higher-order FWM. In addition, the nontransparency phenomenon and optical phase erasure characteristic are also demonstrated by theoretical analyses with optical spectra and phase diagrams.     

Gain-assisted giant Kerr nonlinearity in a ${\sf \Lambda}$-type system with two-folded lower levels

We propose a four-level Λ scheme with a one-mode active Raman gain core and two-folded lower levels to obtain new linear and nonlinear optical responses. We show that this scheme is fundamentally different from that based on electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). Firstly, it is gain-assisted and thus capable of eliminating all attenuation of probe field. Furthermore, due to the quantum interference effect introduced by a coupling field a gain doublet appears in gain spectrum, and hence the distortion of the probe field during propagation can be effectively avoided. In addition, in such system a large and rapidly responding Kerr nonlinearity can be produced, which is much (more than 10 times) larger than that obtained in the EIT-based scheme with the same energy-level configuration.     

DWDM混合光学系统中帧间和信道内四波混频效应的抑制

本文提出了光码多分址（CDMA）和光密集波分复用（DWDM）的混合系统,全面研究了四波混频（FWM）的影响。在这个系统中,主要存在两个四波混频问题：包括多址干扰（MAI）和码间干扰（ISI）的帧间四波混频和信道内四波混频。结果表明,综合考虑信道间和信道内四波混频的影响,最佳发射功率可选为18 dBm。当发射功率大于18 dBm时,混合系统的误码率（BER）将增加。基于此,本文提出了一种电光相位调制器（EOPM）模块,将其放置在波分复用器之后,通过抑制信道内四波混频的影响,同时调制所有波长信号的相位,从而增加混合系统的非线性容限,这极大地改善了基于OOK传输的光学CDMA-DWDM混合系统的性能。此外,由于多对角线（MD）结构具有零互相关特性,通过使用多对角线识别序列码可以减少多址干扰的影响。结果还表明,CDMA技术与色散相结合有助于降低信道间四波混频的影响。此外,识别序列码间隔在减轻码间干扰中起着至关重要的作用,如结果所示,当识别序列码间隔压缩至比特持续时间的25%时,可以避免码间干扰,此时所提出的混合系统的性能最佳。     

Rydberg原子研究的新方法

本文首次用非简并四波混频测量了钠原子的Rydberg态系列光谱,并就其某一条谱线在不同压力下的碰撞加宽进行研究.     

Four-wave mixing: Photon statistics and the impact on a co-propagating quantum signal

We reconstruct the photon statistics of a single-photon source based on the stimulated four-wave mixing (FWM) process. We find that the statistics of the source goes from thermal, at a low power regime, to Poissonian, at a high power regime. We also study the impact of the FWM process on a co-propagating coherent quantum signal in a wavelength-division multiplexed (WDM) lightwave system. The statistics of the quantum signal changes from Poissonian to thermal when a low power is used, and remains Poissonian for a higher power. A multithermal regime is also observed when a moderate power is used.     

Optical Bloch equations with dual photon excitation explain the polarization dependence of four wave mixing quantum beats

We explain the polarization dependence of four wave mixing (FWM) quantum beats for semiconductors as essentially due to the spin phase correlations of photo-excited electrons, rather than to Coulomb interaction between the electrons. A theoretical analysis is given within the framework of optical Bloch equations for the light–semiconductor interactions and the Luttinger–Kohn model for the band structure. Residual Coulomb interactions between charge carriers are ignored. The results suggest that the polarization dependence of FWM quantum beats is a purely coherent effect of dual photon excitations, rather than, e.g., exciton–exciton Coulomb interaction. We show that the coherence transfer between the excited states is responsible for the FWM in a configuration with orthogonally polarized pump and probe.